WELCOME TO IMCPL

About this Site

The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library is focused on providing access to information both in the library and on the web. In September 2005, IMCPL's website was revised to provide easy access to the information and resources you are looking for. We hope your online experience is positive and effective. Please email the Library's Webmaster if you have any questions or comments about the website.

Viewing the Site

Family at ComputerThe IMCPL website is best viewed with a minimum resolution of 800x600 and a minimum browser version of Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 7.1, Safari 1.2.1, or compatible web browser.  Javascript must be enabled to view full features on some of the site's webpages.

IMCPL’s Website Reorganization Project

Websites need continuous refinement and improvement. Over the years imcpl.org grew to be a collection of over 700 individual web pages requiring more and more staff time to manage. The look and navigation were outdated. The website carried a wealth of valuable information that was not being utilized because of the cluttered, inconsistent design.

In April, 2005, the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library Board approved the IMCPL Website Reorganization Project.

The primary goals of this project were to improve our patrons' experiences, make the site more accessible, make the site more professional, and provide better quality content.

In addition, we wanted to take advantage of current technologies to drastically reduce staff time in managing our website. By updating our software and internal processes, we estimate an annual savings of over $80,000 in staff time with these changes.

The scope of the IMCPL Website Reorganization Project encompassed 3 major areas:

  1. Design (look, navigation, standards – including accessibility)
  2. Interactive Calendar of Events offering numerous scheduling options, online registrations, and email reminder services that will help keep Library patrons connected and informed.
  3. Content Management System (CMS) - control costs by organization of content and streamline processes.

We hope that you find our new web site an improvement. Look for additional enhancements in the future to further enrich your experience at imcpl.org. Please email the Library's Webmaster if you have any questions or comments about the website.

IMCPL reached out to several organizations which provided valuable, timely and cost effective assistance to our project:

Web Design

The local firm of Elavio, Inc. provided the much-needed design concepts for this project. Working very closely with IMCPL staff, Elavio's team developed a series of design concepts, navigational structures and site prototypes.

Usability Testing

As part of a comprehensive usability evaluation, the User Experience Group (UXG) of Indiana University conducted a heuristic evaluation of our proposed new website to determine the site's compliance with known usability guidelines, identify usability issues and correct design problems prior to the site's deployment.

In order to obtain feedback, IMCPL staff, under the guidance of UXG, conducted three separate design critiques: Adult, Teen and Children. These critiques were held at the Pike Library on August 24, 2005 using patrons visiting the branch as well as volunteers solicited from our website. Overall, participants were pleased with the new screens and the overall look, as well as the functionality the site will provide.

IMCPL made several adjustments to the website based on UXG's recommendations and our participants' feedback. We continue to welcome any suggestions in an ongoing effort to improve our services.

Calendar of Events

IMCPL maintains a rich schedule of events open to the public. An online Calendar of Events was essential to provide our patrons with clear windows of opportunity to best take advantage of these offerings. We turned to SpinWeb to develop a custom web calendar that would meet all the needs and requirements of our scheduling process.

Content Management System

A Content Management System (CMS) was needed to control costs through better organization of content and streamlining of processes. After a thorough evaluation process, Serena Collage was selected as IMCPL's CMS tool of choice. We estimate an annual savings in resources of over $80,000 from installing the CMS through automation, the elimination of duplicate content, ease of use and automated, timely content updates.